Kleeman's Last Word

The excessive Jordan comparisons endanger NBA's product

Those who lived in the late 1950s and 60s knew the ultimate winner: Bill Russell. They did not rely on You Tube, NBATV and VHS tapes to see Red Auerbach light his victory cigar.

They saw it live. They saw eight straight, Bob Cousy, John Havlicheck and the Celtics becoming sports' greatest dynasty. Ever.

Myself and the other young adults of this generation saw Michael Jordan. We know him as a six-time champion and his jersey number, 23, as part of his greatness. When I recall every athlete I have watched in my lifetime, no one touches Michael Jordan.

Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Nolan Ryan-my sports idols as a kid-came close but seemed unable to penetrate the airspace of his airness. If Jordan was a dictionary entry, we imagine the words 'winner' and 'the greatest ever' would be the first two definitions.

Jordan left basketball in 1997, his failed comeback with the Washington Wizards notwithstanding, and 72 million tuned in to see him say goodbye with a 20-footer and a sixth championship.

When Jordan appears on television or in our minds, it seems like he won a lot more, didn't he? He never lost a game, never scored less than 30 points and was always the best player on the floor, right?

Knowing Jordan's career is understanding that none of the above is true. Even his 72-win Bulls, somehow lost 10 games and he was never immortal. He trash talked most of his marquee opponents and as Steve Kerr will tell you, also knew how to throw a punch.

Maybe that false but satisfying image of the unbeatable Jordan is why we urn to know how every great NBA youngster stacks up against this generation's greatest champion.

Jordan's flaws seem minuscule compared to his world-wide celebrity. He could talk trash to Karl Malone and Charles Barkley because he was every bit as good as people said. There were many other monstrous and tremendous superstars during Jordan's era but none matched his aura. When he left the sport, many viewers also headed for the exits and since, the NBA and sports broadcasters have tried artificially filling the void.

There will never be another Michael but you wouldn't know it from the comparison ABC's broadcast triumvirate -Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson- just had to unleash during game one of this year's NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant has a shot at a fourth championship. Is he better than Michael Jordan? The career numbers say yes and he could probably beat Jordan in his prime in a one-on-one contest.

And yet, such a scenario is not possible. No player in this NBA decade is better than Michael. Our image of #23 makes besting him impossible. Why then are we searching for the answer to a standard that we have already decided will never be surpassed?

When we try convincing ourselves that today's #23, LeBron James, will become the next generation-defining superstar, he scores 48 points in a pivotal game five against the Detroit Pistons, the class of the conference, and it pails in comparison to Jordan's 63 in the Boston Garden. James' Cavaliers won the game and the series. The Bulls lost to the Celtics in double overtime 135-131 and it would take many more years for Jordan to reach his first NBA Finals.

The never-ending quest to replace Jordan has injured today's game and the fans who watch it. Instead of enjoying Tim Duncan as a first ballot hall of famer, James as a fiery athlete who shows leading an underdog team to the Finals is possible, Bryant for being the killer who can outscore teams by himself and many others, we wonder why they are not Michael Jordan.

Steve Nash does not play in the same point guard stratosphere with John Stockton and Magic Johnson, but he too deserves hall of fame consideration. More than 10 years after Phoenix fans booed him at a draft party, he returned to the desert to help Mike D'Antoni turn a fledgling, no-identity squad into the ferocious "fun-and-gun" outfit that was great, but not better than the Spurs.

There are many athletes to admire in today's NBA and any list of the league's best stories includes Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Baron Davis, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol--and you get the idea.

The NBA's two laughingstocks have Dywane Wade and Stephon Marbury. The latter may destory his talent with his poor conduct on and off the court, but it is worth noting that even the pitiful teams boast All-Star level athletes.

The league's top executives saw ratings skyrocket in this year's playoffs. People who watch more than four seconds of a Celtics or Spurs game can see that great teams win in the NBA. When they see Bryant complete a flawless, thread the needle pass to Gasol for a dunk, they know that this is a team game.

One guy cannot do it by himself. And yet, we spend each year examining the NBA's lot of stars and comparing them to a superstar who did it in our minds. Those who can fight the selective memory will remember Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, Kerr, Dennis Rodman, John Paxson and the other role players who poured in valuable contributions in each of those six title runs.

The rampant comparisons each year seem to say that finding the next guy who can bump Bryon Russell and hit a game-winner that seems like a career-winner will make the NBA what it once was when a certain player ruled it.

There will never be another Michael. The NBA doesn't need one.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 12:31 AM